Bat Boy Age Recommendation to Be Made

Published 6:00 pm, Friday, December 13, 2002

AP Sports Writer

Major league general managers probably will make a recommendation of a minimum age for bat boys when they meet Monday on the final day of the winter meetings.

The issue became a hot topic when Darren Baker, the 3-year-old son of Dusty Baker, wandered into a play at the plate and almost got run over before J.T. Snow scooped him up during Game 5 of the World Series.

Commissioner Bud Selig said after the general managers' meetings last month in Tucson, Ariz., that he wanted a minimum in place by next season, but he didn't specify what that age would be.

"I don't want my boy to wait six more years," Dusty Baker, now the manager of the Chicago Cubs, said Saturday. "I hope one mistake doesn't spoil it for a lot of kids. I don't want it to go down in history as the `Darren Baker Rule.'"

It's not clear if the GM's recommendation must be approved by owners when they meet in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Jan. 15 and 16.

"If they said no kids under 15 in the dugout, we'd certainly be against that," San Francisco Giants owner Peter Magowan said before Game 6 of the World Series. "I think our fans love our bat boys. They're nice looking, they're well-behaved. I think it's one of the reasons players want to play for the Giants."

Baker intends to have his son, who is shorter than most bats, scamper about Wrigley Field next season but knows it probably won't be as a bat boy.

"His mother explained it to him," Dusty Baker said. "He says he can wait six more years, but he doesn't understand how long that is. He asks me every day, `Is Christmas tomorrow? Six years is a long time. I'll still bring him on the field before the game. He loves that."